Military Music And Its Story - online book

The Rise & Development Of Military Music

than our regiments of guards. When bands of oboes first came into fashion at the close of the seventeenth century, the "line" regiments, both horse and foot, adopted them as readily as the guards. But the early years of the eighteenth century brought plenty of campaigning, which was scarcely propitious for the cultivation of bands. And, moreover, the State had always looked upon these institutions so purely as a matter of luxury, that no allowance was made for them, the entire support devolving upon the officers.

As there was no military school of music in those days for the training of army bandsmen, regiments were forced to engage musicians from civil life, and not being amenable to military discipline, these people were a constant source of anxiety to the authorities. On the Continent, this system of hiring bandsmen was evidently quite common, for we have a statement to that effect in some articles of capitulation of the Swedish garrison of Demmin in 1759, drawn up by the Prussians. The articles read : " The hautbois and musicians being paid by the officers shall be at liberty," and also that "the hautbois of Spen's Regi­ment may seek employment elsewhere, if it be true they were hired by the officers." Fortescue in his " History of the British Army" says that it was in 1749 that the first attempt was made to abolish the civilian bands­men in our service.

The old system no doubt worked well from a musi­cal point of view, for it was certainly the means of obtaining a better class of player, yet the luxury could